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Tibet The river Yarlung Tsangpo originates in the Jima Yangzong glacier near Mount Kailash in the northern Himalayas. It then flows east for about 1700 Km, at an average height of 4000 m, and is thus the highest of the major rivers in the world. At its easternmost point, it bends around Mt Namcha Barwa, and forms the Yarlung Tsangpo Canyon which is considered the deepest in the world. As the river enters Arunachal Pradesh, it is called Siang and makes a very rapid descend from its original height in Tibet, and finally appears in the plains, where it is called Dihang. It flows for about 35 km and is joined by two other major rivers: Dibang and Lohit. From this point of confluence, the river becomes very wide and is called Brahmaputra. Assam As Brahmaputra, it flows through the entire stretch of Assam. In Assam the river is sometimes as wide as 10 km. Between the Dibrugarh and the Lakhimpur districts the river bifurcates into two channels---the northern Kherkutia channel and the southern Brahmaputra channel. The two channels join again about 100 km downstream forming the Majuli island. At Guwahati, the Brahmaputra cuts through the rocks of the Shillong Plateau, and is at its narrowest at 1 km bank-to-bank. Because the Brahmaputra is the nawrrowest at this point the Battle of Saraighat was fought here. The first rail-cum-road bridge across the Brahmaputra was also constructed at this point. The old Sanskrit name for the river is Lauhitya and the local name in Assam is Luit. The native inhabitants, i.e., the Bodos called the river 'Bhullam-buthur, which means 'making a gurgling sound', later Sanskritized into Brahmaputra. Bangladesh In Bangladesh, the Brahmaputra splits into two branches: the much larger branch continues due south as the Jamuna (Jomuna) and flows into the Lower Ganges, locally called Padma(Pôdda), while the older branch curves southeast as the lower Brahmaputra (Bromhoputro) and flows into the Meghna. Both paths eventually reconverge near Chandpur in Bangladesh and flow out into the Bay of Bengal. Fed by the waters of the Ganges and Brahmaputra, this river system forms the Ganges-Brahmaputra delta, the largest river delta in the world. Transportation and navigation Till Indian independence in 1947, the Brahmaputra was used as a major waterway. In the 1990's, the stretch between Sadiya and Dhubri in India was declared as National Waterway No.2., and it provides facilities for goods transportation. Recent years have seen a modest spurt in the growth of river cruises with the introduction of the cruise ship, "Charaidew", by Assam Bengal Navigation. See also | ||||||||||
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